Secondary Analysis in Demography and Economics of Aging: R03 Program

Dear Colleagues: The March 20, 1998 issue of the NIH Guide contains a Program
Announcement entitled "SECONDARY ANALYSIS IN DEMOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS OF
AGING".
The first
receipt date is April 29. Applications in response to this PA are limited to
1
year in duration (but
with an allowable 1 year no cost extension) and a maximum of $50,000 in direct
costs. There is NO restriction on salary support for the PI. On or before
the
receipt date, please also send us a copy of the first 2 pages of your
application (face page and abstract page) -- fax to Georgeanne Patmios at
301-402-0051.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is seeking small grant (R03)
applications
to: 1) stimulate and facilitate secondary analyses of data related to the
demography and economics of aging; 2) provide support for preliminary projects
using secondary analysis that could lead to subsequent applications for other
research project grant award mechanisms; 3) provide support for rapid analyses
of new databases and experimental modules for purposes such as informing the
design and content of future study waves; and 4) provide support for the
development, enhancement and assembly of new databases from existing data.

Applications may be submitted by domestic for-profit and non-profit
organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals,
laboratories, units of State and local governments, and eligible agencies of
the
Federal government. Foreign organizations and institutions are not eligible.
Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are
encouraged to apply as principal investigators. Participation in the program
by
investigators at minority institutions is strongly encouraged. Applications
from new investigators and researchers new to aging are particularly
encouraged.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

Applicants may request up to $50,000 (direct costs) for one year through the
small grant (R03) mechanism. However, the grants will be awarded under
Expanded
Authorities and are eligible for a single one-year no cost extension. These
awards are not renewable. If applicable, before completion of the R03,
investigators are encouraged to seek continuing support for research through
other grant award mechanisms. Replacement of the Principal Investigator on
this
award is not permitted.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

Approximately $1,000,000 will be available to fund 15 to 20 small grants,
contingent on high scientific merit and program priorities.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The Small Grant program is designed to: support researchers interested in
undertaking secondary analyses of data related to the demography and economics
of aging; provide support for preliminary projects using secondary analysis
that
could lead to subsequent applications for individual research awards; and
provide support for rapid analyses of new databases and experimental modules
for
purposes such as informing the design and content of future study waves.
Development, enhancement and assembly of new databases from existing data are
permitted, provided data analysis is also proposed. International comparative
analyses are encouraged. Applications which are innovative and high risk with
the likelihood for high impact are especially encouraged.

Examples:

* Biodemography of aging. Topics of interest include: heritability and
familial aggregation of disease and longevity; experimental demography;
incorporation of genetic variables into demographic models and age-specific
mortality rates; the population effects of genetic indicators of disease; and
the role of elderly in nature. (See Between Zeus and the Salmon: The
Biodemography of Longevity. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997. Also
available at http://www.nap.edu). See also NIA Pilot Research Grant Program
announcement which permits original data collection (PAR-98-021).

* Investigation of trends in chronic disease and disability, especially of
the
factors underlying the recent trend in declining disability, in the older
population. Determination and estimation of causal factors underlying the
trend
(e.g. medical technological interventions, health care access, early life
experiences, education, biomedical and social research advances, public health
measures).

* Estimation of the impact of changes in the functional status of the older
population on Medicare and other health care costs. Estimation of the impact
of
medical interventions on future lifetime health care costs.

* Economic analyses of the impact of aging-related biomedical and social
research and resulting new technologies and interventions.

* Forecasting life and active life expectancy, health, medical services and
long term care usage. Modeling risk factor trajectories and trends in
noncommunicable disease disability and mortality in developed and developing
countries, with emphasis on aging populations. Analyses and projections of the
epidemiological transition in developing countries. Improved analysis and
projections of the global burden of disease (e.g. incorporating microdata on
risk factors to model the impact of interventions). (See Murray, C.J.L. and
Lopez, A.D. 1996. Evidence-Based Health Policy -- Lessons from the Global
Burden of Disease Study. Science, 274, 740- 743).

* Evaluations and simulations of the impact of changes in DHHS and SSA
policies (e.g. changing the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social
Security
benefits) on the health and functioning of the older population.

* Health, work and retirement, including: implications of population aging
for public and private retirement programs and for income security of future
retirees (See Assessing Knowledge of Retirement Behavior. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press. 1996 and Assessing Policies for Retirement Income:
Needs
for Data, Research, and Models. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 1997.
Both available at http://www.nap.edu); determinants of retirement, family
labor
supply, and saving; consequences of retirement for health and functioning;
comparative studies of labor force activity; effects of psychological factors
(e.g. expectations, risk taking, altruism, time preferences, etc.) and mental
health characteristics (e.g. depression) on economic behaviors (e.g. savings
and
transfers); economic and demographic analyses of employer- and organizational-
level determinants of labor force participation at older ages.

* Interactions between health and economic status over time; relationship
between health and wealth; role of social cohesion as a mediating factor;
improved measures of socioeconomic position for aging populations; economic
determinants of health promotion and disease prevention behaviors.

* Studies of the health of diverse racial and ethnic older populations.
Variables of interest include the effects of lifelong poverty, birth weight,
access to employer-provided health insurance, recency and circumstances of
immigration; the strain of physically demanding work; wealth, income and
early-
life health status; and experiences of discrimination. (See Racial and Ethnic
Differences in the Health of Older Americans. Washington, DC: National Academy
Press. 1997. Also available at http://www.nap.edu).

* Demography and economics of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease, and of AIDS
in
older populations.

* General demographic analyses of population aging, including: the aging of
the baby boom cohort; historical demographic and epidemiological research on
the
aging process and on the determinants of health and mortality in older
populations; migration and immigration; the impact of state and small area
characteristics on health; improved descriptive analyses of centenarian
populations; macro and micro dynamics of intergenerational exchanges; use of
public and private resources in the period before death; and comparative
international analyses of population aging using Census and other data. (See
Demography, 34: 1. February 1997; and Demography of Aging. Washington DC:
National Academy Press. 1994. Also available at http://www.nap.edu).

Priority will be given to proposals undertaking secondary analysis of publicly
available datasets of high Congressional and NIA priority, such as the Health
and Retirement Study (HRS) (see The Journal of Human Resources, 30. Supplement
1995), Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest-Old (AHEAD) (see The Journals
of
Gerontology Series B, 52B. Special Issue, May 1997), and the National Long
Term
Care Survey (NLTCS) (See Manton et al. 1997. Chronic Disability Trends in
Elderly United States Populations: 1982-1984. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 94,
2593-2598). Other datasets supported by NIA which are in the public domain
include: Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ALSA); Current Population
Survey (CPS); Early Indicators of Later Work Levels, Disease, and Death;
Epidemiology of Chronic Disease in the Oldest Old; Established Populations for
Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE); German Socio-Economic Panel
(GSOEP); Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS); Longitudinal Study of Aging
(LSOA); Supplement on Aging II (SOA II); Luxembourg Income Study (LIS);
Malaysian Family Life Survey (MFLS); National Longitudinal Survey (NLS): 1990
Resurvey of Older Males; National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH)
Reinterview; Odense Archive of Population Data on Aging; Panel Study of Income
Dynamics (PSID); 1990 Public-Use Microdata Sample for the Older Population and
the comparable samples from ECE countries (collected by the UN/ECE/PAU); and
the
Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey (WLS).

Since replication is a fundamental tenet of science, applicants should provide
compelling justification for using data which are restricted because of
confidentiality, privacy, international or other legal considerations.

Upon request, program staff listed under INQUIRIES will send applicants
information about these and other datasets, including instructions on how the
data can be accessed.

Although this Program Announcement is oriented primarily to the demography and
economics of aging, the datasets listed above, among others, may also be
relevant to other areas in the behavioral and social sciences. For such
programmatic information, contact staff listed under INQUIRIES.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The submission (new and revised), review, and award schedule for the Small
Research Grant Program is:

Only one Small Grant application may be submitted by a principal investigator
per receipt date. Applicants may not submit other research project grant
applications on the same topic concurrent (to be considered at the same review
cycle) with the submission of a Small Grant application.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev.
5/95) and prepared according to the directions in the application packet, with
the exceptions noted below. Application kits are available at most
institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the
Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes
of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone
(301) 435-0714, FAX (301) 480-0525, Email: ASKNIH@OD.NIH.GOV. On the face
page
of the application: Item 2 type "SECONDARY ANALYSIS IN DEMOGRAPHY AND
ECONOMICS
OF AGING". Check the "YES" box.

Research plan: Do not exceed a total of ten pages for the following parts
(a-d):
specific aims, background and significance, progress report/preliminary
studies,
and experimental design and methods. Tables and figures are included in the
ten
page limitation. Applications that exceed the page limitation or PHS
requirements for type size and margins (Refer to PHS 398 application for
details) will be returned to the investigator. The ten page limitation does
not
include parts e through i. (Human Subjects, Vertebrate Animals, Literature
Cited, Consortium Arrangements, Consultants). For amended applications, an
Introduction not exceeding one page is permitted. Appendix materials are
permitted only for glossy photos and may not be used to circumvent the page
limitations.

Materials submitted after the receipt date: No additional materials
pertaining
to a particular application will be accepted after the receipt date for which
the application is submitted except for certification of Institutional Review
Board (IRB) approval. As specified in the PHS 398 form, certification of IRB
approval must be received within 60 days after the receipt date for which the
application is submitted.

Submit a signed, original of the application, and five exact photocopies,
including the checklist, in one package to:

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral
guidelines. Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific
and
technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened in accordance
with
the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review,
all applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in
which
only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally
the top half of applications under review, will be discussed and assigned a
priority score.

The five criteria to be used in the evaluation of grant applications are
listed
below.

The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of
biological systems, improve the control of disease, and enhance health. In
the
written review, comments on the following aspects of the application will be
made in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a
substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these criteria will
be addressed and considered in the assignment of the overall score.

1. Significance. Does this study address an important problem? If the aims
of
the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced? What
will be the effect of these studies on the concepts or methods that drive this
field?

2. Approach. Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses
adequately developed, well-integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the
project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider
alternative tactics?

3. Innovation. Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches or method?
Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project challenge existing
paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies? Does the project
offer
čhigh riskč with the likelihood for čhigh gainč?

4. Investigator. Is the investigator appropriately trained and well suited
to
carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level
of the principal investigator and other researchers (if any)?

5. Environment. Does the scientific environment in which the work will be
done
contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed experiments take
advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful
collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?

Additional factors to be considered:

The initial review group will also examine: the likelihood that the project
will
lead to the development of an R01 application, or significant advancement of
aging research; the appropriateness of proposed project budget and duration;
the
adequacy of coverage of both genders and minorities and their subgroups in the
dataset proposed for the secondary analysis, as appropriate for the scientific
goals of the study; the adequacy of the proposed dataset to protect the
identifiability of human subjects; and the safety of the research environment.

AWARD CRITERIA

Applications will compete for available funds with all other approved
applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

o quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review;

o availability of funds;

o program priority

INQUIRIES

Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions
from potential applicants is welcome.

For information about the datasets described above, send your inquiry to:

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.
93.866. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act,
Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410), as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC
241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal
Regulations
42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74. This program is not subject to the
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health
Systems
Agency review.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a
smoke- free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In
addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking
in
certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which
regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early
childhood
development services are provided to children. This is consistent with the
PHS
mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American
people.